FBI

As Natalie Figueroa placed her desk phone down, she felt barely a twinge of guilt at the course of action that was being put into place. The plans were coming down from a higher source than herself after all, they were merely pawns in this giant political machine. She either went along with it or got chewed up by it...that was how the game worked...and she always found herself on top one way or another.

Bishop McMorrow's house

The man slept a peaceful slumber in his bed, unaware of the silent threat creeping through the hallway of his home. Only the slightest creak of an old board and then another finally made its way into his dream, as he turned his head opening his sleepy eyes. He barely had time to register the man dressed in all black that stood at the foot his bed. His eyes widened in surprise, but he didn't even have time to cry out in alarm... as the barrel of a gun equipped with a silencer put a single shot directly into the center his forehead. The fatality of it sprayed on the pillows and headboard behind his lifeless body.

District Attorney's office, Veronica Diaz

Her boss had just doled out three cases a piece to each of the newest lawyers, herself included, she had just slapped the manila folders on the desk when her secretary scurried in to deliver the bad news, "Bishop McMorrow was murdered last night in his sleep."

"I'm sorry...who"

"Your most important character witness for your newest client, I'll book your visit to Litchfield."

Litchfield Pen., private quarters

Inmate Nichols sits hunched nervously over a magazine years since old, in a sparsely lit drab room... at a small folding card table. She was occupying one of the two weathered, unmatched dining room chairs waiting for her love to arrival to their conjugal visit. She glanced at the cheap, yellow fabric covering the windows to the lone twin bed with clean sheets, at least as she knew some folks down in laundry. She watches the clock, probably just late from the traffic...

Just when she can't bear to look at the clock for another second, suddenly the door to the small trailer is thrown open and hurriedly rushing in past the large guard steps the one and only girl for her, Lorna Morello. She enters with a bouquet of lilies in her hands...Nichols can't take her eyes off of her face...

All she can do for that moment is stare at her long, dark curls set in waves against the paleness of her beautiful face, her Italian angel with the gorgeously, red stained lips...she watches as those lips part and whisper one simple word..."YES". She doesn't even hear the click of the door..

"Yes...like Yes yes...?" , Nicky struggles to get the words out..

"Oh my god...yes I'll marry you.."...Morello squeals as she runs towards her lover and jumps on her, latching her legs around her waist. Nicky spins her small frame easily towards the direction of the bed as they kiss feverishly, but as they bounce down on the mattress, Lorna pulls away. "But, there's a few conditions..."

Nicky attempts to silence her by kissing down her neck while prying open the top button of her blouse, "Anything..amore mio.."

"Well, my mom wants us to wait until you get out.", Lorna squeezes in between pecks..."Of course!"...Lorna pushes against Nicky getting frustrated..."I'm serious..And we have to get married in a church..."

"Sure"...Nicky has successfully undone the rest of buttons while she vented, brown eyes stare into brown... "A nice catholic one..."

"The best I promise, mia principessa"..Nicky grinned one last time before pulling the zipper on her jeans...she licks a path down from her navel and over to her hips. Lorna gasps as she traces the inches of revealed flesh slowly with her tongue as she peeled them down and off her fiancee's legs..."Now please stop talking"

Infirmary

Alex's eyes scanned the dark brown file cabinets next the bare desk, as she waited for Piper to arrive. There were a few new department memos taped there, only difference. Her eyes moved and were trained through the window, before she had gotten herself thrown in Litchfield, she had studied all the avenues in and around the infirmary. There were mazes of pipes and vented crawl spaces that swirled and connected above their heads and below their feets. She often replayed the blue prints in her mind as if she were standing in the middle of it.

Piper breezed in as she always does, but this time she doesn't go straight to the locked cabinet for a syringe. Though it had been less than a week, Alex found herself smiling at the break from other prison inmates. She'd rather be here staring at Piper's backside than stuck in her cell that's for sure. Piper returns from her office with a manila envelope in her hand and pulls the stool closer to her.

Her blue eyes hold emotions that Alex doesn't know her well enough to decipher. "So, your file here says you graduated from Loyola..

"Dr. Chapman, You've been checking up on me...Alex stared at the younger woman with her confident gaze...

Piper blushed slightly but didn't falter, "I like to know all my patients, it helps with continuity of care."

"Mm hmmm.." She husked out, entirely unconvinced but willing to let it pass

Piper grinned cheekily, "I graduated from Northwestern two semesters after you did", for the first time relaxing her posture and slouching back against her desk with her elbows

"Just seven miles away...we might have ran into each other drunk at few of the local bars and didn't even know it.", Alex reasoned with a little bit of wonder, already knowing this information but grateful that Piper felt like she would share any personal information with her meant something.

Piper rose now taking deliberate steps toward her, her eyes openly roaming her face perhaps even her lips Alex was unsure...feeling like the mood in the air was shifting..."No, i definitely would have remembered..", Piper's voice was resolute yet she didn't glance from the sheets of paper in her hand.

Is she flirting with me...Alex thought..."I'll take that as a compliment."...

"If that's how you see it"" came a quick, sarcastic reply. Alex simply smirked...the lady had jokes today huh...

"The reason I kept you after your injection today was because we got back the latest CBC and further testing shows that your blood glucose deciliter levels are way too high.

"AND...", Alex interjected

"That means your body is reacting to insulin like you are not a diabetic ... Are you sure its Type I Diabetes that you have? She fixed her with a gaze meant to tell if she was lying...

Alex grinned impishly as usually does when trying to sway someone..." All my life, Doc"

Piper frowned with concentration, "Okay then...so you're not experiencing any tingling or tightness?"

They were interrupted by the ringing phone...Piper jumped to answer it...and Alex took the opportunity to stare out the window at the large, black cable of several wired together from the window stretched to the outer wall. Piper interrupted her thoughts again..."I wanna run some tests tomorrow to make sure ...okay...the last thing I need is to be giving insulin shots to someone who doesn't even need it...wasting your time.." Piper's eyes still held some mistrust in them.

"Of course, no problem", her voice not betraying the nervousness ballooning her stomach . She hadn't anticipated this development. She needed to come here, Piper had no idea that this exact window led directly out to the path that Alex intended to use for her escape route.